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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0014.PDF
BUSINESS AVIATION "Dak" finds Polish power PETERBOROUGH The DC-3, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last month, is undergoing a commercial revival which will keep the aircraft flying for many more years. The long standing problems of main taining and replacing the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 series engines is being over come in Canada. Airtech of Peterborough, Ontario, is using an ex- Spanish Air Force Dakota ("Gooney Bird" to its Ameri can fans), recently bought from UK classic-aircraft oper ator Aces High, to re-engine the type with Polish ASz- 621R engines, a derivative of the Wright Cyclone R-1820, which has been built by WSK- PZL in Poland for many years. The engines will drive Polish propellers. Operators of the DC-3 have for long relied on re conditioned engines, which with age offer reducing reliability. The possibility of buying new engines will offer a new lease of life to the "Dak" as a practical commercial aircraft. While the ASz-621R is currently rated at 1,000 h.p. for take-off it is being up rated to 1,200 h.p. as part of the conversion. Installation involves slightly larger cowl ings. Airtech expects to fly the trial aircraft in March. It plans to offer conversions at Peterborough and at a new facility being formed at Shan non, Ireland, for a cost of around Can$200,000, says James Mewett, Airtech's chief engineer. Fuel consumption will be similar to the present R-1830 engines, though Airtech says that the Polish propeller may improve fuel efficiency. Dakota prices are going up, says Mike Woodley, chairman of Aces High, which is nego tiating the purchase of 18 examples of the C-47 from an undisclosed foreign air force. Woodley, who operates a fleet of classic military aircraft for use by the film industry, believes that the engine conversion programme could keep the type, which has a wide range of roles, in service for the next 50 years. The capital cost of a Dakota is low, around $150,000 for a good one, and it can carry three tons over a reasonable range, says Woodley. Pointing out that the Dakota has no limit to airframe life, unlike later pressurised turboprop types such as the Dart Herald, which has almost reached the limit of its spar life, Woodley believes that the total cost of operating the type compares favourably with modern equivalents, such as the Shorts 360 in the short-haul freight market. Botswana taps tourist charter GABORONE Botswana's main charter company, Northern Air, is expanding its operations in the Okavango Delta and start ing a new operation, Western Air, out of the capital, Gaborone. During the past three months NA has purchased another Cessna 206 for the Delta flights and WA has bought a Cessna 210. NA is one of the biggest general aviation companies in southern Africa, with six pilots running five flights a day into the Okavango wild life and hunting reserves during the April to October peak season. Tourist oper ators have built the Delta's dirt runways, around 1,000m long, on permanent dry land within the swamps. "There are no mountains, no weather problems. So it's fairly easy flying," says NA pilot Steve Oliver. Originally, NA was set up to serve hunting areas in the Delta by the US hunting company, Safari South, based in Maun on the southern edge of the Delta. However, the surge in general tourism has brought new business for NA. Two years ago, the company operated just three aircraft, but now has five Cessna 206s, two Islanders, and two Baron 58s. This year, NA plans to begin operating in Kasane, farther north, serving lodges for Hunters Africa and to build a new maintenance hangar at Maun to handle both Northern Air and West ern Air aircraft. Safety Board fights Piper WASHINGTON D.C. A court case between Piper Aircraft and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) over the firm's refusal to pay a $160,000 fine is being considered by the US Justice Department. The NTSB referred its case against Piper to Washington last month, following a pro tracted argument, involving an angry exchange of letters, over Piper's use of Aerospace Management Services Inter national as its representative in accident investigations. The NTSB says that, at the time of investigations, AM SI had been owned by Piper's insurance company, United States Insurance Under writers. According to the NTSB, such a link would break NTSB rules, which ban all potential litigants from investigations. The NTSB believes the link existed, and has been trying to recover the fine for months. Uncertain future for North SeaS-61s? The Sikorsky S-61's future in North Sea oil support could be severely curtailed if the CAA's Phase Two proposals for new legislation on com mercial helicopter per formance requirements come into effect next year. Operators are concerned that the proposals are geared to fixed-wing oper ating concepts, and will slash commercial payloads in an already beleaguered sector of aviation. The proposals are aimed at types that do not have full single-engine hover capa bility. Single-engined heli copters will also be affected. 14 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 4 January 1986
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